Cloudy | Illinois Weather 6 AM

Good morning! I'm Aaron Jolly. And welcome to the Illinois Weather Podcast. It's Thursday, February 26th. Folks, that 26 degrees on your thermometer right now? Savor it. Because by tomorrow afternoon, we're talking 60s. Buckle in.. This week is about to get wild. Let's start up north. Northern Illinois is sitting at 18 degrees right now. Wind chills near 13 around 7 A.M., so that morning dog walk stings a little. Partly sunny skies push you toward a high near 42 degrees. Not bad. Chicagoland, you're at 26 under partly cloudy skies. Mostly sunny this afternoon with highs also near 42. Now slide down to Central Illinois. You're warmer at 30 degrees, but there's a catch. A slight chance of freezing drizzle between 14 degrees and 8 A.M. Take it slow on those early roads. Once that clears, mostly sunny skies and a high near 52 degrees. That's ten degrees warmer than the north. Tonight settles into the upper 20s to mid 30s under partly cloudy skies. Quiet. Easy. Friday is the plot twist. Southwest winds crank to 20 miles an hour with gusts near 35. Temperatures vault into the 60s statewide. Central Illinois could touch 68 degrees.. Nearly 30 above normal for late February. Your windows might actually open for the first time since November. But that warmth comes with a warning. Low humidity plus gusty winds means elevated fire danger, especially across west central Illinois. No burning. Period. Now the twist behind the twist. A cold front barrels through Friday night. Saturday cools fast with snow chances developing. By Sunday into Sunday night, a winter storm could bring accumulating snow. Too early for totals, but keep your shovels accessible. Quick bright spot. We're gaining nearly three minutes of daylight every day now. Sunrise at 6:31, sunset at 5:38. Spring equinox is just three weeks out. I'll be glued to that weekend storm track tonight. Check back tomorrow for the Friday update. That's your forecast — we'll be back tomorrow.